25.05 seconds for all-out 200 meters in spikes .... Is it possible for me to improve this?

Try jumping off a 200m cliff. You'll destroy your current PR.

Assuming your talent this is your yearly progression at 90% training:

2014 . . . 24.4

2015 . . . 24.1

2016 . . . 28.6 (injury)

2017 . . . 24.0

2018 . . . 23.8

2019 . . . 23.9 (desperation)

2019 . . . 22.2 (PEDs)

Then you get a heart disease and die in 2024.

Yes, you can get faster doing Canova uphill 60 meters sprints, but you don't have the self discipline to take

the long recovery between sprints.

Google Canova ramps.

You can easily improve by doing plyometrics and short alactic sprints of 80m or less. Do something like 16 x 80m @ 95% effort with full recovery (2:00 or more) between each one. Do that once per week. You'll be amazed at how much you improve.

FWIW, 25.0 is decent for a distance guy. Depending on your aerobic base, that could allow for 1:54, which I'm guessing would be an accomplishment for you. ???

jamin wrote:

Just tested my all-out 200 speed and was kinda disappointed because I'm trying to focus on the 800 and know that good sprint speed is a must. I saw a Flotrack workout video where a female 800 runner did 8 x 200 in trainers and did 24.5 for the last rep. I can do her same workout minus the fast last lap, and apparently I can't even do her last lap on fresh legs. Can I improve my 200 speed or is it all natural ability?

of course it can be improved. sprinters obviously train for their races - they just don't rock out there on natural ability. many middle distance runners actually don't place enough emphasis on speed, IMO. holding all else constant, if you can drop to 24s 200 ability your 800 will definitely improve.

It is true that you must have the speed to be able to run a respectable 200m to be competitive at 800m, but training specifically for the the former will not likely make you faster at the latter. If your goal is to run the 800m, you should train for that by keeping most of your workouts around 800m race speed.

I'm going to go ahead and give you the response that you were obviously looking for when you started this thread: Dude, your 200m time isn't bad. In fact, that's an awesome time. And you're an awesome runner. You're so good!

Is that about what you were looking for?

Guppy wrote:

You can easily improve by doing plyometrics and short alactic sprints of 80m or less. Do something like 16 x 80m @ 95% effort with full recovery (2:00 or more) between each one. Do that once per week. You'll be amazed at how much you improve.

FWIW, 25.0 is decent for a distance guy. Depending on your aerobic base, that could allow for 1:54, which I'm guessing would be an accomplishment for you. ???

That doesn't make sense because the chick on Flotrack only does 1:58 (if I remember correctly) and she's way ahead of where I am. I've done 1 800 in 2:00 and I can't touch her workout with the 24.5 mixed in. I'm gonna try to find the video when I get home.

jamin wrote:

Guppy wrote:

You can easily improve by doing plyometrics and short alactic sprints of 80m or less. Do something like 16 x 80m @ 95% effort with full recovery (2:00 or more) between each one. Do that once per week. You'll be amazed at how much you improve.

FWIW, 25.0 is decent for a distance guy. Depending on your aerobic base, that could allow for 1:54, which I'm guessing would be an accomplishment for you. ???

That doesn't make sense because the chick on Flotrack only does 1:58 (if I remember correctly) and she's way ahead of where I am. I've done 1 800 in 2:00 and I can't touch her workout with the 24.5 mixed in. I'm gonna try to find the video when I get home.

How much fast work have you done?

jamin wrote:

Guppy wrote:

You can easily improve by doing plyometrics and short alactic sprints of 80m or less. Do something like 16 x 80m @ 95% effort with full recovery (2:00 or more) between each one. Do that once per week. You'll be amazed at how much you improve.

FWIW, 25.0 is decent for a distance guy. Depending on your aerobic base, that could allow for 1:54, which I'm guessing would be an accomplishment for you. ???

That doesn't make sense because the chick on Flotrack only does 1:58 (if I remember correctly) and she's way ahead of where I am. I've done 1 800 in 2:00 and I can't touch her workout with the 24.5 mixed in. I'm gonna try to find the video when I get home.

you've only done ONE 800. if you raced a few more each a few weeks after the other you'd have broken 2. the first one is a jolt to the system and is always sub maximal.

25s for 200 is good enough for sub 2

jamin wrote:

I'm gonna try to find the video when I get home.

Whoops. I was mixed up. I was talking about this video:

. I thought she was an 800 runner.

Fyi: 25.02 hand-timed is like a 25.5. Other variables apply...wind, when you actually stopped the watch, etc. Maybe you ran a 26ish?

shoesboost wrote:

Fyi: 25.02 hand-timed is like a 25.5. Other variables apply...wind, when you actually stopped the watch, etc. Maybe you ran a 26ish?

I'm pretty good at pushing the lap button while in midair over the white line.

shoesboost wrote:

Fyi: 25.02 hand-timed is like a 25.5. Other variables apply...wind, when you actually stopped the watch, etc. Maybe you ran a 26ish?

Was it a flying start jamin? If so it doesn't matter, it's way faster than an open 200 anyways.

That should be plenty of speed... there's a flotrack video of Leo Manzano doing an all-out 200 at the end of a workout and he only ran around 25.0, and he was at altitude which aids sprinting.

Breathe in breathe out wrote:

Was it a flying start jamin? If so it doesn't matter, it's way faster than an open 200 anyways.

No, it was a standing start, from lane 4 because there were walkers hogging lanes 1-3!

My procedure for timing 100s, 200s or 400s is

(1) Stand still at the line

(2) Push the button the split-second that I start to move

(3) Jump across the finish line and push the button while I'm over the line

Yea, I'm not pretending like this is official, but I'm very honest with myself when it comes to workouts. There's no point of cheating yourself in workouts when you truly care about official performances. For instance, I don't count treadmill workouts anymore because I've come to the honest conclusion that paces on a treadmill are easier even with 1% incline on a properly calibrated machine.

Your problem is that you are comparing yourself to a world class female 400 runner. No shit she can do impressive workouts. However her training is optimized for the 400. She can't run sub 2, focus on your training.

25.1 in the 200 yields a 400 time of no better than 54. How fast can one run an 800 with that type of 400 speed? Not much better than 2:00 ( 58 fist lap 62 second lap) unless we're dealing with a high aerobic profile.

I ran 2:00 for 800m when I could only run a 26.0 200m. 200m isn't really a good predictor of 800m time. It's better to think in terms of being able to come through 400m in a particular time and not feel like it's all out. When I ran 1:56 (my PR from high school), I came through in 56.x and felt like I was redlining but not all out. I was a strength runner and probably couldn't have run faster than 53low for 400m. I took four seconds off my 800m in one year just by doing a lot of neuromuscular work like 12 x 80m.

jamin, you won't get much faster by getting stronger. you need to learn how to use your body more subtly so you can create less resistance to the energy moving through you. you're strung pretty tight, but if you can do something to alter your mindset before working out that should help long-term.